"Jenny" wrote in message
news
Our lot was originally covered with deep chopped wood mulch which
developed artillery fungus.

I would bet you used fresh chips that still had living parenchyma cells.
The more you compost the wood chips the less likely you are to get A.F..

Composted wood chips and leaves are something I recommend and apply often.
We have had no problem with A.F. The mulch we use is about two years old.


I'd like to put a few inches of SOMETHING on these beds to keep down
weeds, but because artillery fungus can stay alive for many years, it has
to be something that won't get it going again.


A.F. has to do with the symplast in the fresh chips. Get wood chip mulch,
not bark mulch, that has composted for two years and you will not have a
problem. Many commercial mulch out fits push the materials out maybe too
soon.

Anyone here familiar with this problem and have solutions?

The local landscaping people play very dumb when you ask about it,
probably because they've been making the problem worse for years with
their heavy use of mulch.

I have mulch instructions here which where obtained directly from a
mycologist.

Mulching - http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub3.html
and
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/ Look up "Mulch"



The fungus problem isn't just mine, a lot of
people in my area have developed it recently, so these landscapers just
pretend they have never heard about it when you try to discuss it!

Most landscapers in my area use whatever mulch the commercial outfits are
selling. My source is a very composted mix of wood chips and leaves.
BTW the wood is important because composted wood is xthe substrate for the
bas of the food web in a forest. The mycorrhizal fungi.
More on the chemistry of mulch can be found he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/CHEM.html

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/21st.html

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...go/CANKER.html



Ignorance of tree biology has been, and still is, the major cause of tree
problems worldwide.

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ion/mulch.html


Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.